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Dionysius of Halicarnassus · Roman Antiquities §1.30.1-1.30.5

Indigenous Origins and Names of the Tyrrhenians

Passage 30 of 962 · Greek

Summary

The author rejects the connection between the Tyrrhenians (Etruscans) and Lydians due to differences in language, religion, and customs, arguing that the former are indigenous to Italy. He also explains the origin of their names and recounts how the surviving Pelasgians joined in the foundation of Rome.

§1.30.1τούτῳ μὲν δὴ τῷ τεκμηρίῳ χρώμενος ἑτέρους εἶναι πείθομαι τῶν Τυρρηνῶν τοὺς Πελασγούς.
Using this proof, indeed, I am convinced that the Pelasgians are different from the Tyrrhenians.
οὐ μὲν δὴ οὐδὲ Λυδῶν τοὺς Τυρρηνοὺς ἀποίκους οἶμαι γενέσθαι· οὐδὲ γὰρ ἐκείνοις ὁμόγλωσσοί εἰσιν, οὐδʼ ἔστιν εἰπεῖν ὡς φωνῇ μὲν οὐκέτι χρῶνται παραπλησίᾳ, ἄλλα δέ τινα διασώζουσι τῆς μητροπόλεως μηνύματα.
Nor, indeed, do I think that the Tyrrhenians were colonists of the Lydians; for they are not of the same language as them, nor is it possible to say that, although they no longer use a similar language, they preserve some other tokens of their mother city.
οὔτε γὰρ θεοὺς Λυδοῖς τοὺς αὐτοὺς νομίζουσιν οὔτε νόμοις οὔτʼ ἐπιτηδεύμασι κέχρηνται παραπλησίοις, ἀλλὰ κατά γε ταῦτα πλέον Λυδῶν διαφέρουσιν ἢ Πελασγῶν.
For they neither worship the same gods as the Lydians, nor do they use similar laws or practices, but in these respects at least they differ more from the Lydians than from the Pelasgians.
§1.30.2κινδυνεύουσι γὰρ τοῖς ἀληθέσι μᾶλλον ἐοικότα λέγειν οἱ μηδαμόθεν ἀφιγμένον, ἀλλʼ ἐπιχώριον τὸ ἔθνος ἀποφαίνοντες, ἐπειδὴ ἀρχαῖόν τε πάνυ καὶ οὐδενὶ ἄλλῳ γένει οὔτε ὁμόγλωσσον οὔτε ὁμοδίαιτον ὂν εὑρίσκεται.
For those who declare that the nation did not arrive from anywhere else, but was indigenous, are likely to speak what is more like the truth, since it is found to be very ancient and neither of the same language nor of the same way of life as any other race.
ὠνομάσθαι δʼ ὑφʼ Ἑλλήνων αὐτὸ τῇ προσηγορίᾳ ταύτῃ οὐδὲν κωλύει, καὶ διὰ τὰς ἐν ταῖς τύρσεσιν οἰκήσεις καὶ §1.30.3ἀπʼ ἀνδρὸς δυνάστου.
And nothing prevents their having been called by the Greeks by this name, both on account of their dwellings in towers and on account of a ruling man.
Ῥωμαῖοι μέντοι ἄλλαις αὐτὸ προσαγορεύουσιν ὀνομασίαις· καὶ γὰρ ἐπὶ τῆς χώρας, ἐν ᾗ ποτε ᾤκησαν, Ἑτρουρίας προσαγορευομένης Ἑτρούσκους καλοῦσι τοὺς ἀνθρώπους· καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς ἐμπειρίας τῶν περὶ τὰ θεῖα σεβάσματα λειτουργιῶν, διαφέροντας εἰς αὐτὴν ἑτέρων, νῦν μὲν Τούσκους ἀσαφέστερον, πρότερον δʼ ἀκριβοῦντες τοὔνομα ὥσπερ Ἕλληνες Θυοσκόους ἐκάλουν·
The Romans, however, call them by other names; for indeed, from the land in which they once dwelt, which is called Etruria, they call the people Etruscans; and from their skill in the rituals concerning divine worship, in which they surpassed others, they call them now, rather indistinctly, Tusci, but formerly, rendering the name with precision, they called them Thyoscooi, just as the Greeks did.
αὐτοὶ μέντοι σφᾶς αὐτοὺς ἐπὶ τῶν ἡγεμόνων τινὸς Ῥασέννα τὸν αὐτὸν ἐκείνῳ §1.30.4τρόπον ὀνομάζουσι.
They, however, call themselves Rasenna, after one of their leaders, in the same manner as he was named.
πόλεις δὲ ἅστινας ᾤκισαν οἱ Τυρρηνοὶ, καὶ πολιτευμάτων οὕς2τινας κατεστήσαντο κόσμους, δύναμίν τε ὁπόσην οἱ σύμπαντες καὶ ἔργα εἴ τινα μνήμης ἄξια διεπράξαντο, τύχαις τε ὁποίαις ἐχρήσαντο, ἐν ἑτέρῳ δηλωθήσεται λόγῳ.
But what cities the Tyrrhenians founded, and what systems of government they established, and how great a power they all together possessed, and what deeds worthy of memory, if any, they performed, and what fortunes they experienced, will be shown in another book.
§1.30.5τὸ δʼ οὖν Πελασγικὸν φῦλον, ὅσον μὴ διεφθάρη τε καὶ κατὰ τὰς ἀποικίας διεσπάσθη, διέμεινε δὲ ὀλίγον ἀπὸ πολλοῦ, μετὰ τῶν Ἀβοριγίνων πολιτευόμενον ἐν τούτοις ὑπελείφθη τοῖς χωρίοις, ὅπου σὺν χρόνῳ τὴν Ῥώμην οἱ ἔκγονοι αὐτῶν σὺν τοῖς ἄλλοις ἐπολίσαντο.
At any rate, the Pelasgian race, as much of it as was not destroyed and dispersed in migrations, but remained, a small portion out of many, was left behind in these places, living under the same polity with the Aborigines, where in course of time their descendants, together with the others, founded Rome.
καὶ τὰ μὲν ὑπὲρ τοῦ Πελασγικοῦ γένους μυθολογούμενα τοιάδε ἐστί.
And such are the legends told concerning the Pelasgian race.

Notes

  1. 1.30.1οὐδʼ ἔστιν εἰπεῖν ὡς φωνῇ μὲν οὐκέτι χρῶνται παραπλησίᾳ, ἄλλα δέ τινα διασώζουσι — In the clause introduced by the conjunction ὡς, the particles μέν ... δέ form a concessive contrast, meaning 'even if they no longer use a similar language, they preserve some other tokens.' The entire construction is governed by οὐδʼ ἔστιν εἰπεῖν ὡς ('nor is it possible to say that...').
  2. 1.30.2κινδυνεύουσι ... λέγειν οἱ ... ἀποφαίνοντες — The verb κινδυνεύω is used here not to mean 'run a risk,' but with the infinitive (λέγειν) to mean 'be likely to' or 'appear to.' The subject is the articular participial phrase οἱ ... ἀποφαίνοντες ('those who declare...'). Additionally, the adjective ἐπιχώριον is used predicatively with τὸ ἔθνος, which is the object of the participle ἀποφαίνοντες ('declaring the nation to be indigenous').
  3. 1.30.3διαφέροντας εἰς αὐτὴν ἑτέρων — The participle διαφέροντας (accusative plural) modifies the Etruscans (the unexpressed object of the naming construction, referring back to τοὺς ἀνθρώπους or αὐτούς). The genitive ἑτέρων is a genitive of comparison governed by the participle of superiority διαφέροντας (from διαφέρω, 'to differ from, surpass'), meaning 'surpassing others in it (the skill, εἰς αὐτήν).'
  4. 1.30.5τὸ δʼ οὖν Πελασγικόν φῦλον ... ὑπελείφθη — The core structure of the sentence is τὸ ... φῦλον (subject) ... ὑπελείφθη (passive verb, 'was left behind'). In between, there are complex insertions, such as the relative clause limiting the subject ὅσον μὴ διεφθάρη ... ('as much of it as was not destroyed...'), the contrasting clause διέμεινε δὲ ... ('but remained...'), and the participial phrase μετὰ τῶν Ἀβοριγίνων πολιτευόμενον ('living under the same polity with the Aborigines'). The main verb of the entire sentence remains ὑπελείφθη.

Cite this passage

Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Roman Antiquities §1.30.1-1.30.5. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0081.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:1.30.1-1.30.5

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